Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 84

The moonlit night is quiet. The bonfire blazes, but its flames cannot compete with the bright white divine light.

Ryan finally sees the face of the Moon God. Yet, he isn’t surprised—Kurt has already told him that the Moon God has a face unlike any of theirs. He is handsome, but that beauty comes with a great sense of distance. He is not someone who could ever exist among them.

There are plenty of handsome men in the world, even among nobles, but their beauty is accessible, worldly, and easily tarnished. The God before him is not like that. He is born noble and sits far away in the heavens. He doesn’t need human approval.

It is people who need His recognition—only then can they bask in the glory of the moon at night.

Especially after witnessing the Moon God’s miracles, Ryan has already surrendered both body and soul. The gifts offered to the Moon God disappear in an instant—he doesn’t even hear a sound.

Ryan glances at the spot in front of the campfire where he places the ‘offerings’. The livestock, gold, silver, and fine wine are all gone. But a box of gems is left behind—no, not just left behind; there’s even another box added to it.

His eyesight is sharp, and the box is uncovered. He can clearly see the gems inside.

Mostly rubies, with a few green and blue ones. All are larger and finer than those he prepares. Any one of them could be set into a royal crown.

Ryan suddenly panics. He fears the Moon God might think his offerings aren’t good enough, that he lacks sincerity.

He stands beside Kurt. For once, he feels no hostility toward him. He even hopes the Moon God’s attention will fall on Kurt instead.

But the Moon God’s pleasant and strange voice rings out—and He is speaking to Ryan: “I don’t like gems. Keep some for yourself and trade the rest for something interesting for me.”

Ryan lets out a silent sigh of relief. The Moon God is not angry.

He bows his head and flatters Him quickly: “Yes, Lord Moon God. I will do exactly as you command.”

The Moon God’s voice comes again: “I saved a human. He will manage this land. I don’t care about the land at the foot of the mountain—that’s still yours. But this mountain—I want to build a new human village here.” He chuckles softly. “It will be quite interesting.”

Ryan quickly responds: “Your will is my command. This land is yours. I’m only your slave—how could a slave own land?”

The Moon God’s gaze lands on him again. Ryan shivers, his body stiff with fear. His hair stands on end.

“You’re quite good,” the Moon God says.

That simple praise lifts a heavy weight off Ryan’s chest. He feels incredibly lucky and honored. To be praised by the Moon God—does it mean he is one step closer to immortality? Perhaps he will soon shed his human form, enter the Moon Temple, and become a divine envoy or servant. Then no king on earth could compare to him.

“Come out,” the Moon God calls.

Ryan dares not look at the God, but he still steals a glance.

In the divine light, a man seems to appear from nowhere. He has shiny red hair that glows faintly orange in the firelight. His back is slightly hunched, but not in a way that looks deformed—rather, it feels casual, even a bit rebellious, like a spoiled noble youth who simply doesn’t care to stand up straight.

He isn’t handsome, and his face has freckles. He wears a strange garment—sleeveless, or nearly so—with a rough black pattern on the chest. It has a crude aesthetic, yet carries an undeniable presence. The shoes on his feet are also unlike anything Ryan has ever seen.

Ryan doesn’t know this man. But he instinctively assumes the man is noble. If he weren’t, he couldn’t have been saved. The Moon God only saves nobles or civilians—never slaves.

Kane also looks at Ryan. The moment he lays eyes on him, he knows—Ryan has completely forgotten him.

How powerful this man had once seemed. Kane once thought that if someone could become hunchbacked in adulthood, it would be because Ryan made it happen.

Everyone once tried to please him, as if he were the ultimate truth, the only king and god of this land.

Everything he did was hailed as wise and righteous.

But now, Kane stares, dazed. Was the lord always this fat? Were his eyes always this small? Was he always this short?

Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

In Kane’s memory, Ryan had been towering, like a giant. But now, he looks especially weak—just a short, fat man. No broad shoulders. No commanding presence. A single punch could probably knock him over.

He isn’t great at all.

The dark fog that has lingered in Kane’s heart for so long finally lifts. It is as if a breeze has blown it all away. His mind clears.

“He is the one I’ve chosen, the manager of this land,” Ye Zhou says, addressing the people still kneeling. His tone is soft, but his words are absolute. “I want him to live.”

Ryan keeps a straight face and immediately promises, “Lord Moon God, rest assured. Nothing will happen to him. If it does—I’m willing to die with him.”

The Moon God’s response comes calmly: “Remember what you said.”

That familiar divine light envelops everything.

The Moon God disappears once more.

But this time, He leaves behind a divine envoy.

Ye Zhou, who has returned to Zou Ming and Sarah’s side, looks at Kane with concern.

He worries Kane won’t be up to the task. He also fears he has overestimated Ryan’s fear of the divine. After all, Kane’s success is key to seizing control.

Only if Kane takes power and becomes the de facto ruler of this land can Ye Zhou continue his plans.

Kane is the most important piece.

If Kane fails, Ye Zhou will need to find someone else.

But if Kane dies because of him… Ye Zhou doesn’t know if he can carry that guilt.

He sighs. “I hope Kane can pull it off.”

Sarah says, “Boss, don’t underestimate the power of faith. Faith is terrifying. It can unite people quickly, and drive them to fight for unclear rewards.”

Ye Zhou thinks about it, and nods. That’s true.

Faith can be a double-edged sword. At its best, it pushes people forward—even at the cost of their lives.

Weren’t Norman Bethune and other international comrades the same? Risking their lives for a cause, crossing oceans to fight on foreign soil for people not of their own race.

(Translators Notes: Norman Bethune (1890–1939) was a Canadian physician, medical innovator, and humanitarian best known for his selfless service as a battlefield doctor during the Second Sino-Japanese War.)

But misguided belief splits people apart, creates hierarchies, and once power is seized, suppresses dissent—turning one person into the sole truth.

Ye Zhou hopes that what he leaves behind here is a good faith—not some vague, hollow god.

Of course, if it ends up being the latter, there’s not much he can do. After all, this world already has plenty of gods. One more won’t make a difference.

According to Kane, there are three countries on this continent. Though the gods of each country come from the same mythological system, their beliefs differ. For instance, the nation Ye Zhou is currently in worships the Sun God and the Moon God.

The other two countries worship different gods—one venerates gods of water and fire, and the other, the Forest Goddess.

Gods are not in short supply here. Once a country believes in something, its entire population follows.

So rather than being separated by geographical boundaries, these nations are divided by belief systems. Merging them is nearly impossible. Even though they share a continent, they live like people from different worlds.

Ye Zhou has no burden pretending to be the Moon God.

“It’s up to Kane now,” Ye Zhou says to Zou Ming. “I want to open a branch store here. That’s one of the unlockable features on this plane. The branch manager must be a local. Although he can’t travel through time and space like me, he’ll be able to contact me and purchase goods from me. I get a commission for every branch I open. But there’s a catch—the branch can only sell items appropriate to the local era. Only I personally can sell things that go beyond it.”

Zou Ming nods. “That’s a good rule. If every plane could sell future tech, accelerating their era artificially would lead to all kinds of problems.”

Ye Zhou thinks for a moment. “That’s true. But I also think the difference might not be as big as we imagine. Things from higher planes don’t always matter much to lower planes. But the influence of a single ‘Dimensional Jump’ is hard to measure. It’s like if an alien spaceship really landed in our world—scientists might not understand everything, but it would still spark rapid technological development. Like the things I sold during the Daliang Dynasty. If a smart person manages to study and understand them, they could accelerate the whole society. In my world, it took a long time for computers to be invented. But once they appeared, it didn’t take long for them to enter every household. My mom used to feel heartbroken buying a phone—now people change them like clothes. You don’t feel the change while living it, but from the outside, the speed of technological progress is terrifying.”

The system doesn’t care about the technological progression of each plane. It only cares about profit.

Ye Zhou knows that a single jump between planes can deeply impact each world.

But maybe, in the grand process of development, his presence is not an accident—but a necessary part of the flow. He might be the link meant to appear.

That’s why he doesn’t feel uneasy about influencing other worlds. He knows that while his influence may not be entirely good, it’s definitely not evil.

Just as Ye Zhou finishes speaking, he notices Zou Ming and Sarah staring at him. Their eyes are glowing with admiration, making Ye Zhou a bit embarrassed.

He asks curiously, “What? Did I say something wrong?”

Zou Ming shakes his head slightly. “No. You said everything perfectly.”

Sarah quickly adds, “Nothing could be more right, boss!”

Zhou Yuanhe, who is sitting nearby, hears their flattery and decides to join in. “Whatever the boss says is always right.”

Ye Zhou laughs and teases him, “Did you even understand what I just said?”

Zhou Yuanhe blinks and replies, “Everyone else said it’s right, so it must be right.”

The interruption lightens the mood. Ye Zhou feels more relaxed and turns to the dimensional box beside Zou Ming. “Let’s wait two more days. Once we’re sure Kane’s safe, then we’ll head back. I wonder how much this thing is worth.”

If he doesn’t still need Ryan, Ye Zhou wouldn’t even bother walking out of the stone house for him. Why should he? Only those who’ve been slaves understand what it means to be treated as less than human.

Not a single person recognizes him.

Kane finds this hard to believe. He expects the lord won’t recognize him—after all, the man has never looked him in the eye before.

But even the steward and the other slaves don’t recognize him. Especially the slaves. They have lived together day in and day out, and yet after just a short absence, they look at him like he’s some nobleman who holds their fate in his hands.

The lord speaks to him respectfully, “Messenger of the Lord God, if you wish to live here, I’ll have someone build you a house tomorrow. But large stones are hard to come by. If you’re in a hurry, I can only build a wooden house first.” The lord quickly adds, “I mean no disrespect! If you prefer, I can even give you my own bedroom!”

Kane feels it is absurd. He is still the same person. Nothing about him has changed—only his identity has.

And that change is enough to make people treat him like a god.

He doesn’t feel proud. Instead, he feels a deep absurdity. He realizes something: he himself doesn’t matter. Not really.

Not even the lord in front of him matters.

None of them are people. They are just roles. Titles. A messenger of God, a noble, a slave. None of them are truly human.

Kane relaxes. Imitating Zou Ming’s calm tone, he says, “No need for trouble. I don’t need a new place to stay—but these new civilians do. Lord Moon God has asked me to oversee them and build this place into an above-ground temple.”

Ryan’s breath hitches. He murmurs, “…An above-ground temple…”

Kane nods. “It will be like the temple on the moon. Here, everyone is equal—only the gods are above.”

Ryan quickly responds, “That’s wonderful! Truly wonderful!” He asks again, “Aside from the housing, is there anything else you need?”

Kane looks at him. “Lord Moon God gave you a pile of gems. Use them to trade for interesting things. Consider this your test. But if you decide to keep the gems and offer cheap junk to Lord Moon God…”

Ryan swears, “I’d never! If I did, Lord Moon God would throw me into the abyss to suffer for a thousand years!”

Kane nods and looks at the slaves nearby.

Now, he knows exactly what he needs to do.

Lord Moon God has given him this chance—and he has to seize it.

To him, the Moon God is everything. His savior. His sole belief.

But to the Moon God, he is not irreplaceable.

If he fails this mission, Lord Moon God will simply replace him.

That’s why he must succeed.

And not just succeed—he must excel.

Otherwise, he would not only let down the Moon God, he would lose the one gaze that finally saw him. After feeling that gaze, how could he ever go back to being unseen?